


Us (against the world)

by AStrangeDaze (TerraRising)



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Not Actually That Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 18:41:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13037127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerraRising/pseuds/AStrangeDaze
Summary: Daniel's dating scandal hits the streets at the same time Seongwoo stops talking to him.





	Us (against the world)

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who got completely side-tracked from working on things she should be writing again? Me. 
> 
> At least something came of this, I suppose......

“Uh, Daniel?” Sungwoon hands him his phone with a worried expression, “I think you might want to see this.”

 

Daniel takes one look at the headline and curses, whipping out his own phone, scrolling through his contacts frantically before hitting call. The phone rings for a few seconds before someone answers with a hushed whisper, “Hello?”

 

“Noona, are you okay?”

 

Soyoung laughs on the other end, “I’ve locked myself into a public restroom right now because I got mobbed and separated from my group, what do you think Niel?”

 

“Shit,” Daniel ran a hand through his hair, knocking the beanie he had on off in his distress, “I’m so sorry you got caught up in this, noona. I’ll fix it, we’ll get the company to put out statements. I’m so, so, so sorry.”

 

“It’s okay, I mean, I’m kind of amazed they even found those pictures. I guess what they said is right, never underestimate the power of people on the internet.”

 

“Are you going to be alright though?”

 

“I’ll be fine, I called my manager and he’s going to come back and get me after he grabbed reinforcements,” she is silent for a moment before she laughs again, voice taking on a joking tone, “Hey, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad we broke up.”

 

Daniel can’t help but laugh himself in response, “Noona, we went out two times before youdecided it wasn’t going to work and asked me if I felt the same way and I said yes.”

 

“Well then, past me clearly has great judgement, can you imagine how much worse this would be if we had dated properly? If we were still dating?”

 

“Let’s not go there, just- stay safe, okay noona? It’ll blow over soon. I hope.”

 

“Mmm….okay I think I hear my manager, I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for calling to check on me though, I appreciate it.”

 

“Hey,” Daniel says softly, “We’re still friends, right?”

 

“Yeah, friends. Okay, I have to go, bye.”

 

He echoes her farewell and hangs up with a sigh, turning to realize all his group members have congregated around him sometime during the call and are watching him curiously. Most of his group members anyways, he can see the back of Seongwoo’s silhouette as he disappears into their shared room.

 

“Everything okay?” Jisung asks with a worried frown and Daniel ekes out a smile.

 

“Noona’s manager is with her now, I think we can only wait for things to die down.”

 

“Right,” his hyung sighs and walks over to hug him before Daniel even realizes how badly he needed one, “Don’t worry about it too much, Niel-ah, you both knew the potential dangers before you got into this. She’s strong, she’ll be fine.”

 

“I hope so. I hope so.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Seongwoo hyung?”

 

No response. The older man stared at the tablet on his lap, appearing immersed in his game and Daniel felt himself deflate.

 

Ever since those articles about him and Soyoung-noona had hit the news with all the subtleties of a small bomb going off, Seongwoo has been ignoring Daniel. Only on camera does Seongwoo acknowledge Daniel’s existence, and even then, he barely glances at him, answering in short, clipped sentences.

 

He hovers uncertainly beside the couch, wondering if he would make things better or worse if he tried to sit down next to his boyfriend. Daehwi finally takes pity on him and looks up from where he was bent over his phone, whispering to Jinyoung. “Seongwoo hyung,” he calls.

 

“Hmm?” Seongwoo’s answer is noncommital as he glances up to flash Daehwi a fond smile and Daniel feels his chest clench painfully in jealously, “What’s up, Hwi-ah?”

 

“Daniel hyung has been calling your name for the past five minutes….” the younger boy trails off as the look on Seongwoo’s face shutters.

 

“Has he now?” Seongwoo finally looks in Daniel’s direction though he only looks past his shoulder, doesn’t meet Daniel’s eyes, “Did you need something?”

 

“I-, um, it’s getting late, I was…..wondering when you were coming to bed…”

 

“Oh, I’m switching beds with Woojin tonight, I wanted to spend time with Minhyun. But thank you for reminding me, I should get ready for bed.”

 

With that, Seongwoo gets up and breezes past Daniel effortlessly before the younger boy can even think to reach out and grasp his arm, to pull him back and beg for an explanation, to ask what he’s done that’s so wrong that Seongwoo can’t even bear to look at him. He collapses heavily on the vacated couch, he isn’t sure how long he’s in a daze for, only looking up pitifully when a concerned Jisung drifts over, freshly showered and in warm pajamas.

 

“Hyung,” he croaks out, “What did I do wrong? I didn’t even do anything! Is he this upset because of my dating scandal with Soyoung noona?”

 

Jisung bites his lips and looks away but Daniel catches the significance of the motion all the same and lurches up from his seat, grasping at Jisung’s hands desperately. “Hyung,” he begs, “Hyung, if you know something, please, tell me. You’re close with Seongwoo hyung, he has to have told you something, right? Tell me, tell me so I can fix this. I can’t- this is torture, I can’t live like this.”

 

“Niel-ah,” Jisung dithers as he tries to decide between his longstanding friendship with Daniel and the confidence Seongwoo has placed with him in disclosing his deepest worries to him.

 

The pitiful way Daniel has wilted, has been slowly collapsing upon himself in the past few days as he tried to weather the force of his scandal and the cold shoulder his boyfriend was giving him breaks Jisung’s heart and resolve. “Seongwoo….he’s not trying to be malicious, Niel-ah. He’s not mad, he’s just……hurting in his own way.”

 

“Hurting?” Daniel rasps out, “How- why? Was it, was it really something I did?”

 

“No, no honey, it’s not,” Jisung gathers Daniel into his arms, cradling him close as he tries to find the words to explain, remembering all the times when they were younger and unsure and Daniel would wander up to Jisung’s doorstep looking like a lost puppy at night, questioning whether this life was the right life for him, “It’s like this. All it took was one picture of your and Soyoung together, and everyone started to speculate that you guys used to date, right?”

 

“Uhuh….”

 

“But with you and Seongwoo, no matter how many times you’re caught holding hands, photographed going out for late dinners together, heck, even if he kisses you on camera, even as all your fans scream about ‘Ongniel is Science!’, what happens?”

 

“….hyung?”

 

“Nothing happens, Niel-ah. Nothing. To the world, you will always be best friends, _can only ever be best friends._ And that’s what Seongwoo can’t stop thinking about; that the world will never accept him standing by your side as anything more than that. But he doesn’t know how to say it so he says nothing instead. Do you understand now, Niel?”

 

There are tears blossoming in Daniel’s eyes now, he opens his mouth and closes it several times uselessly, “I…..I never thought….”

 

“You couldn’t have known,” Jisung shakes his head, “I told him he needed to talk to you but he said he didn’t want you to have another thing on your mind.”

 

“I-” he stumbles where he stands, pushing away Jisung’s hand, “I have to go, I- Seongwoo hyung, where is he?”

 

“He’s with Minhyun.”

 

Daniel rushes to the biggest room in their dorm, easing the door open silently in lieu of knocking.Jihoon’s desk lamp is still on and the younger boy glances up from his book to gesture at the figure curled up on Woojin’s bed. Daniel nods silently in thanks and climbs in, slipping in behind Seongwoo and wrapping his arms around his boyfriend’s waist tightly, hanging on even as Seongwoo jolts awake and pushes at his arms.

 

“Daniel-”

 

“Hyung,” his voice is shaking with the force of holding back his tears and he buries his face into the crook of Seongwoo’s neck, “Seongwoo Hyung. Even if the whole world tells me, tells us no, the one that I love will always be you and only you. It might not be today, it might not be tomorrow, but I promise you one day I'll stand in front of the whole world and proclaim that you're mine in every way. We'll, we’ll get married - even if they don't recognize it, I want to marry you. So please don't be sad anymore. Please don’t ignore me anymore, I can’t bear it.”

 

Seongwoo who had gone stiff in his arms when he started speaking sighs and then leans back into Daniel’s chest as if the very fight was drained out of him. “Jisung hyung told you.”

 

“I begged him to.”

 

Seongwoo turns around, meeting Daniel’s eyes in the dim light, fingers coming up gently to brush along the reddened skin around Daniel’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he whispers, “I shouldn’t have done that, I just. I couldn’t stop thinking about it whenever I saw you. I shouldn’t have hurt you like that, I’m a terrible person.”

 

“No, no, you’re not. I love you, all of you,” Daniel hurries to reassure him, “Just promise me that anything that worries you from now on, you’ll share the burden with me.”

 

“Okay,” Seongwoo agrees softly, leaning forward to brush a kiss against Daniel’s brow, “I will. And you too, you’ve been stressed all week, you don’t have to carry the burden alone. I should have been there to help you, and I failed in that too.”

 

“Just don’t leave me anymore. Stay close to me. Stand beside me, be proud of standing beside me.”

 

“I am,” Seongwoo intones, clutching Daniel just as closely as the younger man hangs on to him, “So proud. I’ll fight the whole world to stay beside you.”

 

“Together?”

 

“Together.”


End file.
